Detonator for projectiles



C. P. WATSON. i DETONATOR FOR PROJECTILES. APPLlcATloN man ma. 1s. van.

1,316,607. Ptentedsept-23,1919.

Watson,

@Hmmm pliedto vuniTnD sTATEs PATENT onirica CHARLES P. `WATSON, 0FPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNQRVTO WATSON ARMS COMPANY, INC., 0FPHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

DETQNAIOR FOR PROJECTILES.

Patented Sept. 23, 1919.

Application led January 13, 1917. Serial No. 142,200.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES P. WATSON, a citizen of' the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county 'of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inDetonators for Proj ectiles, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to detonators for ordnance shells, it being..designed particularly as a nose impact detonator to be apshellscontaining high explosive and adapted particularly for. use in fieloperations, although the invention 'is not limited in its usefulapplications to use in connection with shells of this particular kind.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure l is a central longitudinal sectional view of a detonatorembodying my improvements, a small portion of the shell to which it isapplied being represented, and the parts of the detonator beingrepresented as in armed position and adjusted for quick firing ordetonation.

Fig. 2 is acentral longitudinal section of thedetonator, the partsthereof being represented in unarmed or safety position and adjusted forslow firing or a delayed detonation..

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the main lpiece or body of thedetonator, taken on the line 3, 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4. is a transverse sectional view on the line 4, 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a diierent form of theinvention from that shown in the other views. Y f

Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view of a diierent form of mechanismemployed for adjusting the iring pin.

Fig. 7 is an end view of the tiring pin adj uster shown in Fig. 6.

VIn the drawings. 2 indicates ashell or projectile adapted to carry acharge of high explosive that is placed within the chamber 45 of theshell. It is provided with a detachable nose piece 3 that serves toclose the opening into the chamber 45, at the forward end of the shell.lTo this nose piece is secured, through screw-threaded connection 4, thelbody or main supporting piece 5 of the detonator, whichlpiece is formedwith a neck 6 that is screwed into the 'nose piece and has a 'shoulder 7that abuts against the rear face of the nose piece when the parts areassembled, constituting a strong abutment at this point. The body 5 ofthe detonator is externally screw-threaded near its middle, as indicatedat 8, to engage with the shell, and its rear portion is reduced indiameter and externally screw-threaded, as indicated at 9 to provide forthe attachment of the casing 10v that carries the booster charge. ing adetonator such as here illustrated,

`whether placed in the front or the rear end of a shell, the casingcontaining the booster charge enters a recess formed therefor in themass of high explosive constituting the bursting charge of the Vshell 2.The casing l() is therefore of sufficiently thin and fragile material toproperly yield to the booster -charge upon its being detonated orexploded. By making the casing 10 separate from the body of thedetonator it can bel formed from It is well understood that in us-' asingle piece of metal, its inner end being thus integral with its sidewalls, and hence not liable to lseparate therefrom under the shocks towhich the detonator is exposed when in service use. Furthermore, thereare decided advantages in construction and manufacture incident tomaking the body 5 and casing 10 separate, as much Shorter stock materialis thus required for the detonator proper. dent to making the casingcontaining the booster charge separate from the body or main portion ofthe detonator, containing the firing and other functioning mechanism, isthat the booster casing may be loaded and shipped separate from the bodypart of the detonator; and as such part contains the iulminateofmiercury or other sensitive charge, the danger of accidental anddestructive explosions in transit is thus reduced.

The casing 10 is preferably provided with a shoulder 12 abutting againstthe inner end of the bodyV of the detonator or the purpose of takingshocks due to impact and relieving the screw threads 9. Ithas been alsofound advantageous to provide the cas ing with an external screw thread11 of the same pitchV and diameter as the thread 8, and adapte-,dV todirectly engagev with the screw-threaded part of the shell 2 when thedetonator is applied thereto, particularly when this .feature of theinvention is used Another advantage inciof line therewith and entirelycut off therein connection with fuse or detonator adapted to Ibe appliedto the rear end of a shell, as these threads are found to support andhold the casing securely in position and prevent its separation from theother parts of the detonator, as might take place should the screwthreads 9 he alone relied upon for this purpose.

The body 5 of the detonator is internally chambered as indicated at 23,and in this chamber is mounted a plunger 22 -which is free to moveto alimited extent therein. rlhe chamber is closed at its inner end by aplate or partition 24, and between this and the plunger is located acoiled spring 25 that tends to hold the plunger in its forward position,that is, toward the nose of the shell. The plunger is transverselyslotted as indicated at 13, and in the slot is mounted an oscillatingturret 14 supported upon bear-o ings 15 on-which it is free to rock.

The turret is chambered as indicated. at 18 to receive a capsule orminiature projectile 19 in which is placed the detonating charge 0ffulminate of mercury or other sensitive explosive.

The plunger body in rear of the turret 14, and the partition 24, areperforated, the perforations in these parts being in alinement with eachother, their axis being preferably the longitudinal-axis of .thedetonator. A tube 27 constituting a runway is Etted into the aperture inthe rear portion of the plunger, and another runway tube 53 is securedto the partition 24 inline with the said apertures. The turret 14 isadapted to be oscil lated upon its trunnions or bearings 15 so that thechamber 18 therein shall aline with the apertures and. runway tubes justreferre to, as indicated in Fig. 1, when the parts are in armedposition; or shall he out from, as indicated in Fig. 2 when the partsare in safety or unarmed position. The parts are held ositively in thelatter position by a locking bolt 28 `mounted in the plunger and actedupon by a spring 29 that holds it in locking position with itsv end in arecess formed therefor in the turret'.

Another .locking pin 58 may be employed for holdin the turret positivelyin armed position. his locking pin is seated in. a

recess 59 formed in the turret, which recess is adapted to come intoalinement with a recess 60 formed in one wall of the plunger 22 thatybounds the. slot 13 in which the turret is located, when the lattercomes to the position indicated in Fig. 1, that is, to armed position.The pin 58 is free to slide in the recesses 59 and 60, and when theshell begins Ato spin,'centrifugal force tends to throw the pin outward,so that when the turret rocks and the recesses 59 and 60 come intoalinement the pin will be shot into the latter, locking the turret inarmed position. It

will be understoodl that the pin is short enough to lie entirely withinthe recess, 59, and that itis held therein by the bounding wall oftheslot 13 luntil the parts corne to the position indicated in Fig. 1.

The turret is formed with an eccentric projection 16, adapted, when theparts are in safety or unarmed position, to occupy a seat 17 formed atthe inner end of a plug 47 screwed into the forward end of the bodypiece 5. The projection 16 is held against this seat bythe action of thespring 25, and constitutes a means, in addition to the lockw ing bolt28, for holding the parts in safety position.

In practice the turret is so made that it is balanced upon its pivotalsupports 15, that is to say, any two parts thereof diametrically ,tionindicated in Fig. 2 to that indicated in Fig. 1. In the former positionnot only is the projection 16' seated, but the capsule 19 containing thedetonating charge is out of line with the runway leading into the midstof the booster charge, while in the latter position, the turret havingturned, the capsule-is in lin-e with this runway and ready to heprojected along the said runway, that is to say, the detonator is inarmedpositon.

Behind the capsule is located a charge of eX- .plosive 21, such 'asblack powder, that is adapted to be fired by a cap or primer 20supported in the turret.

30 indicates a tiring pin mounted in the plug 47 at the forward end ofthe detonator and arranged to engage with the cap 20 under conditions tobe presently stated. The firing pin is carried by a plunger 31 that ismounted in a recess 33 formed in the plug 47. A coiled spring 32 actingupon the plunger tends to retract the iring pin and hold it out offiring position, that is, so that upon impact of the shell it will notact upon and lire the cap 20'. The plunger 31 is provided with a contactextension 34 upon which bears an adjustable wedge ortapering plug 35.This wedge is provided with a screw-threaded portion that is adapted toengage with either of two internal screw threads, 36 and 37, cut in thewalls of a recess 51 formed in the nose piece 3. When the plug isengaged with the outer screw- Yby the spring 32 is forced forward 'andthe firing pin 30 is retracted. When, however,

the plug is caused to engage with the screw thread 37 the expanded orwider portion of the wedge is brought opposite the projection 34, andthis forces the plunger 31 forward, compressing the spring 32 andprojecting the firing pin into active or armed position, as indicated inFig. 1. The recess 51 is open from the outside, permitting access to thehead of the plug 35 in which is formed a kerf 52 adapted to receive theend of a 'screw driver', by which it may be maniputhe wedge or plug inplace. There are preferably two split spring rings 63 and two groovesformed in the plug or wedge, in the construction illustrated intheseiviews. When tie wedge is 'adjusted to the position indicated inFig. 6, the firing pin 34 then being in unarmed or safety position, theouter ring 6'3 lies partially in the first .or inner groove 62, whilethe inner ring is in engagement with the smooth, cylindrical portion ofthe wedge. Under these conditions, t-he wedge is held with sufficientsecurity to prevent any accidental displacement thereof. l/Vhen it isdesired to arm the detonator, the wedge is driven inward, the elasticityof the springs permitting it to move past them, until the two groovesbecome respectively opposite the two rings, when they will contract andenter the grooves in the wedge, securely locking it in the positioncorresponding to the position of the wedge illustrated in Fig. 1, andvholding the firing pin armed. i

The inner end of the plug 47 is shaped to form a firing rim 38 v'whichis preferably concentric with the firing pin 30, and is adapted toengage with and explode a second cap or primer 39 seated-in the turretand arranged to igniteA a powder train lo cated in a channel 40 formedin the turret 14. This channel communicates with the inner end ofthechamber 18 in whichvis seated the capsule 19.

The capsule is provided at its lforward end with a cap 50vthat isadapted to be,

engaged by a firing pin 46 carried at the inner end of the runway tube53. The det-- onator has now been sufficiently described to warrant itsoperation being set forth. After the shell 2 has been loaded thedetonator, with the nose piece attached, is applied, being screwed intothe forwardend of the shell. yThe then in the positions indicated inFig. 2, so far as the turret is concerned. Upon the parts of thedetonator are A discharge of the gun the violent impulse given to theshell causes the plunger 22 to set back, compressing the spring 25. Thiswithdraws the projection 16. from the seat in which it was resting. Atthe same time the locking bolt 28 is set back, freeing the plunger sothat it may be rocked upon its trunnions 15 under the influence ofcentrifugal force. The parts are so related that centrifugal' force, dueto the rotation of the shell imparted by the riiing of the gun, acts torock the turret, bringing it to the position indicated in Fig. 1 atabout the time or shortly after the shell leaves the muzzle of the gunand before acceleration ofthe shell in its flight has ceased, whichacceleration insures that the plunger 22 and the locking bolt 28 shallbe maintained in their set back positions just referred to. Upon theshell attaining its maximum velocity the spring 25 acts to set forwardthe plunger, the turret now being in the posi-n of the turret andarrests it in proper armed position. The turret is provided with a shearpin 48 that enters a recess 49 formed l in the inner wall of thedetonator body 5 when'the turret is rocked into armed osi'- tion. As theplunger and the turret w ich is carried thereby are moved forward by thespring 25, during the flight of the shell, the shear pin 48 reaches theend of the recess 49 where it is stopped and positively arrests furtherforward movement of the plunger and turret, as indicated in Fig. l1. Themovable parts now come to rest relative to each other, in positionarming the shell. If it be desired that the shell shall be ex; plodedinstantly upon impact, the plug will have been adjusted to the positionindicated in Fig. 1 immediately before the shell was loaded in the gun,forcing the firing pin forward and linto position to engage with theprimer 20. This can be safely done, because the parts are then in theunarmed, safety, position indicated in Fig. 2. Upon impact of the shellthe plunger and turret set forward, shearing the pin 48, and the primer20 is carried forcibly into engagement with the firing pin 30,'which isbacked and held rigidly in firing position by the adjustable plug orwedge piece 35. The explosion of the primer 20 ignites the black powdercharge, 21, which fires the capsule. or miniature projectile fromitsseat and along the runway through the partition 24. Upon reaching theend of this runway, the capsule then being in the tube 53 and in themidst of the detonating charge in the casing 10, the cap 50 at theforward end of the capsule comes into engagement with the firing pin 46which explodes the cap, and that in turn sets off the detonating vchargecarried by the capsule. This causes the detonation of the boostercharge. and that in turn causes an explosion or detonation of the maincharge carried by the shell. Since the capsule fits the aperture 26through the partition 24 and the bore of the tube 513 quite cl0sely,\the body of air confined in front of the capsule would be compressedvery highly were the tube 53 air-tight, possibly highly enough to offersufli-cient resistance to stop the capsule before it reached the firingpin 46,-or to so reduce its velocity that the engagement with the firingpin 46 would not be sufiiciently forcible to cause the cap 50 to befired. I therefore prefer to perforate the inner end of the tube 53, asindicated at 42, and to cause the end of the tube 53 to register` withor entera tube 41 secured, as by a bolt 43, to the inner end of theeasing 10. With this arrangement the air passes from the tube 53 beforethe moving capsule and into the tube 41, and the size of the latter issufficient to take care of the' entire body of air moved without causingserious compression thereof. When it iS desired that the vbursting ofthe shell shall be somewhat delayed after impact, as for instance topermit it to penetrate the earth to a considerabledistance beforeexploding, the adjustable plug is left in the position indicated in 35Fig. 2. The firing pin is then retracted through the action of thespring 32. Upon impact of the shell the cap 20 is not eX- ploded becausethe firing pin is retracted, but the cap 39 is exploded by the engage-40 ment of the firing rim 38 therewith. This ignites the powder trainlocated in the groove v40, which finally ignites the powder charge 21,whereupon the operations already described take place. It will beunderstood that when the parts are arranged for quick firing upon impactthe cap 39 is exploded at j thesame instant as is the cap 20, but beforethe powder train is consumed the shell has burst` and hence this moreslowly acting means of firing may be ignored, as its effect is m'l,unless the cap 20 should fail to function.

44 indicate passages within the detonator leading to the recess 51 inthe nose of the 55 projectile. If from any cause any one, or

evenall, of the explosive charges carried by the turret should becomeaccidentally ignited or detonated, no serious injury would result to thedetonator beyond rendering it dead,

provided the turret occupied its normal safety position. The walls ofthe detonator body 5 are suiicientlystrong, especially when reinforced,vby the walls of the shell into which the detonator is placed, to resist66 lpressure due to explosonsor detonations such as just supposed, andthe passages 44 make provision for permitting expansion of the gasesincident toac-cidental explosions,

in a direction away from the booster charge. The expansion of the gasesthrough these 70 passages and the loss of heat, which would be conductedaway by the surrounding' metal, would hence reduce pressures below adangerous point.

In Fig. 5 I have shown an arrangement 76 of the parts of the detonatordifferent from that embodied in the detonator that has been described.Referring to this View, 55 j indicates a firing pin, carried by theturret in a position about the same as that occupied by the cap 20 inthe arrangement first described. The ycap or primer that is arrangedtobe fired by this pin is designated 56 and is located at the inner endof the plug 47. Flash passages 57 lead from the e5 recess in which islocated the cap 55 past or alongside of the firing pin 55 to the base ofthe chamber 18 in which is located the capsule carrying the detonatingcharge, so that when the cap is ignited the flame there- 9) fromwillfire the charge of black powder 21.

Some of the features of the detonator herein described, including the`plunger adapted to be set back when the shell is fired from the gun,and the oscillating turret carried by the plunger and constituting aseat for the capsule that carries the det onating Charge and is adaptedto normally occupy a position of safety with the capsule out of linewith the course it takes to the position where -it detonates the boostercharge, and is also adapted to move into position in line with thatpassage' under the action of centrifugal force when the gun is fired,are shown and claimed in a col pending application of mine led July 27,1915, Serial No. 42,134. l therefore have not herein described theconstruction of all the parts of the detonator here shown and theadvantages inherent to them with that degree of plarticularity that lemployed in my saidv o' er case, as that seems to be unnecessary.

What I claim is 1. In animpact detonator for projectiles carrying adetonating'charge, means for rendering'the detonator safe should thesaid detonating -.charge accidentally explode,

means for armin the deton-ator arranged. to act only when t e projectileis `fired from a gun, meansy acting upon impact of the l projectile forquickly firing the detonating charge, other meansalso acting upon.impact of .the projectile for causing a delayed firing of thedetonating charge, and means for renderingone of the said firing meansinoperative at will. y

' l2.v In an impact detonator for projectiles carrying a detonatingcharge, means act-- ing upon impact of the projectile for quickly 13|the projectile, a plunger carrying .asiatica quick iii-in meansinoperative at will with' yout distur ing the delayring means and meansfor normally holding both the quick and delay firing means innontunctioning positions, arranged to operate to bring the vsaid ringmeans into functioning relations onlyupon the projectile carrying thefuse beinered from a gun.

fzln an impact detonator for projectiles c'arryinga detonating charge,means acting upon impact of the projectile arranged to quickly fire thedetonating charge, other means also acting upon imp-act of theprojee-tile for causing a delayed iring of the detonating charge, thequick firing means comprising a longitudinally movable ring pin thatnormally occupies a retracted position with its point shielded so thatit can not act, and means under the control of the unner for setting thesaid ring pin either into projected firing position or retractedinactive position.

4;. In an impact detonator for projectiles ,carrying a detonatingcharge, a plunger movable within the detonato'r, a tiring pin' movablewith reference to the plunger and acting upon impact of the projectileand the forward movement of the plunger due to such impact, tol causequick tiring of the detonating charge, a firing rim also acting uponimpact and the forward movement of the plunger to cause a delayed firingof the detonating charge, and means under the control of the gunner forsetting `the liring pin either into active or inactive posi. tion. I y

5. In an impact detonator for projectiles, a firing pin arranged to actupon impact of the said pin', a spring for normall ho ding 'the plungerin position so that til inactive, anda vmember adjustable at the will ofthe gunner for positively moving the plunger against the action of thespring to cause the firing pin to assume active position before theprojectile is fired.

6. Ink an impact detonator for projectiles, a firing'pin arranged toact` upon impact of the projectile, a plunger carrying the said pin, aspring for normal-ly holding the plungerA in position so that the firingpin is in inactive7 nonfunctioning position, a member adjustable at thewill of the gunner for positively moving` the pin-carrying plunger jagainst the action of its spring to cause the pin to assume active,iring positionbeforey the projectile is fired, and means for normallymaintaining the fuse in safe, non firing condition arranged to functionand arm the fuse only upon the projectile carrying it being fired from agun.

e firing pin is 7, ln animpact detonator carrying. a detonating charge,a primer arranged to cause quick firing of the detonatin charge, anotherprimer for causing a delayed firing of the charge, an adjustable ringpin for acting 'upon impact of the projectile to tire the quick actingprimer, other nonadjustable tiring means acting immediately upon impactor' the projectile for firing the delayed action primer, means under thecontrol ci the gunner for rendering' the said adjustable firing pininoperable at will and means for normally maintaining the fuse in safe,non-tiring condition arranged to iunction and arm the fuse only upon theprojectile carrying it beingired from a gun.

8. In an impact detonatoi' for projectiles carrying a detonating charge,means for inaintainin the parts of the detonator normally in sa Jetypositions, means acting upon impact of the projectile for quickly firingthe detonatingl charge, other means also acting upon impact of theprojectile for causing a delayed iiring of the detonating charge, thesaid firing means comprising 'parts that are separated and inactive forfiring when the parts of the detonator are in safety positions, meansttor arming the detonator and causing the firing means to assumefunctioning positions, arranged to act only when the projectile is iredfrom the gun, and means for rendering the quick firing means totallyinoperative at will.

9. A nose impact detonator arranged to be applied to a projectilecarrying a charge of high explosive, comprising al booster charge ofexplosive, a detonating charge of explosive, a movable capsulecontaining the detonating charge, a movable carrier in which the saidcapsule is placed, a runway -along which the capsule isl adapted totravel extending from the said carrier into the lbooster charge, meanstor positively hold vsaid powder charge, other means acting upon impactof the projectile for causing a delayed iiring of the said powdercharge,

and means for rendering one of the said im pact tiring means inoperativeat will.

10. An impact detona-tor for a projectile comprising a capsule loadedwith a detonating charge, a runway along .which the said detonatingcapsule is impelled to the position where it is to be red, a plungermov- Miki laL

able in the detonator and arranged vto set back when the projectile isfired from a gun and; to set forward ywhen the projectlle strikes, thesaid plunger being perforated inline with'the runway for the passage ofthe said capsule, a carrierY for the said cap.

'projectile striking to impel the capsule" along thersaid runway.

11. An impact detonator for a projectile,

comprising a partition centrally perforatedv and dividing the detonatorinto two chambers, in one of which is located a booster` charge, aplunger located. in the ether chamber, the plunger being perforated inline with the perforation through the said partition, a runway tubeextending from the saidA partitioni into the midst ofA the y boostercharge and arranged in linev with thrp'erforationsin the plunger and thepartition. acapsuleloaded with a detonating charge adapted to beimpelled throughpthe said perforations and along the runway into themidst of Ythe booster charge where it. is` to be fired, a carrier forthe said capsule supported in thepllunger and free to move @from anormal safetynposition with the. capsule out of line with the runway toan arming position with the capsule in line therewith,

rmeans for normally 4holding the carrier in safety position and arrangedto be operated to releasethe carrier only upon theY projectile vbeingfired froni'a gun, and means caused to operate when the projectilestrikes to impcl the capsule along theV runway.

12. impact detonator fora projectile, comprising a partition centrallyperforated and dividing the detonator into two chambers, in one of whichis located a booster charge, a plunger located in the other chamber,being arrar ged to back when the proj ectile is fired from a gun and toset forward when the projectile strikes, the plunger being perforated inline with the perforation throughfthe said partition, a runway tube eX-tending from the saidpartition into themidst of the booster charge andarranged in line with .the perfor-ations in the plunger and thepartition, a capsule loaded with a detonat-v ing charge adaptedtobeirnpelled through thesaid perforations and along the runway fto firethe booster charge, these two explosive charges but having aY:communicating passage between them, a

into -`the midst of the booster lchargel where it is to be fired', acarrier for the said Veapsuie supported. in the plunger EVand free tomove from a normal safety position with f the capsule out of line with.the runway to arming positionfwith the capsule inline therewith, meansfor normally holding the carrier in safetyY positio'n and arranged to`be operated to release the carrier only upon tlreprojectile being firedfrom a gun, a spring arranged between the said partition and theplungerand tending to move the plunger forward, and means caused tooperate when /the projectile strikes to impel the Ycapsule along runway.

'13. A VYnose impact detonator for a 'projectile comprising a mainsupporting piece in which is formed a central chamber, a

boosterchar e located in rear of the said central chamier, a runwayleading into the midst ofY the booster charge, a plunger located in thesaid central chamber and perforated in line of the said runway, anoscillating turret supported in the said plunger,

' the turret being formed with a seatffor a capsule containing adetonating charge, the, turret being freely movable from a normal safetyposition with the capsule which it carries out of line ,with the saidrunway toan arming position with the capsule in line therewith, meansfor normally holding the Acarrier in the said safety position andarranged to beloperated to release the carrier oniy upon the projectilebeing fired from a gun, and firing means arranged to cause the capsuleto `beimpelled from its seat and into the runway arranged to be operatedwhen" the ,plunger sets forward upon the projectile striking. .14. In animpact detonator for ordnance projectiles, the combination of acontainer for a booster charge, a 'carrier for a detonating charge ofYsensitive explosive 'adapted means Separating movable support for thecarrier containing the detonating charge adapted either to be v movedinto safety position with the detonating charge cut olf from the boostercharge, or to *armed position with the detonating chargeV in lineY withthe passage communieating with the booster charge, means for'Y'holding-the said support lolcked in safety position arranged torelease the carrier upon- Ythe projectile being fired from a gun, andYmeans for positivelyY locking thesaid support againstmovement when itcomes to armedposition. Y E YYCHARLES P. WATSON.

